Woman from Orange stops carjacking by ramming sheriff's car

Google MapsVailsburg Park in Newark, where a woman rammed a police officer's car in order to try to stop a carjacking.

SOUTH ORANGE — An Orange woman halted a carjacking today by driving her Nissan Pathfinder into a law enforcement vehicle to get the officer’s attention, Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontura said.

Just after the 21-year-old woman parked her car in a South Orange lot, a man forced her back into the vehicle and told her to drive down South Orange Avenue, Fontura said.

When the woman saw an Essex County Sheriff’s Office vehicle parked near Vailsburg Park in Newark, she took an action Fontura said may have saved her life.

"She had the good sense and good wits about her, even while in a state of terror, to get our officer’s attention," Fontura said. "By all means, if you have to do what she did to get out of a dangerous situation, we welcome that opportunity."

After the forced car accident, which left both vehicles with minor damage, the carjacking suspect bolted from the car. A sheriff’s officer chased the suspect on foot for four blocks before losing sight of the man, Fontura said.